Oh, Ed. Just when we thought you were going to sit on your hands and do nothing during the early days of the hot stove season, you make a savvy, depth-conscious signing by bringing former San Francisco Giant Ryan Sadowski into the fold.
You may remember Sadowski from such games as the July 3rd, 13-0 beatdown where Sadowski pitched seven shutout innings against our boys. So I guess, if you can beat them....join...them? We'll assume that's what went through Sadowski's head this morning.
After being drafted by the Giants in 2003, "The Big Sadowski" (and yes, that nickname will stick around these parts) hung around in the minors for six seasons before getting called up last season to take the place of injured starter Jonathan Sanchez. Sadowski had mixed results in his six big league starts, finishing the season with a 4.45 ERA and a 17/17 K/BB ratio.
Without having a ton of information to go off of, the knocks against Sadowski appear to be a lack of control, and a mediocre repertoire of pitches. CHONE recently released their 2010 pitcher projections, and their outlook for Mr. Sadowski is as a reliever, but is fairly optimistic:
| IP | R | BB | K | ERA |
| 53 | 28 | 26 | 44 | 4.42 |
Not going to wow you, but could be a useful arm to have around come spring training. With Wesley Wright, Felipe Paulino and Wilton Lopez expected to compete for the fifth starter's slot, Sadowksi should have an opportunity as well. If he can't beat one of them out, it's not as if the starting rotation in Round Rock is overflowing with talent, so he will be ready if and when he is needed.
Not quite the big move we were hoping for at this point in the offseason, but this is the sort of under the radar acquisition that may end up paying fairly large dividends in the upcoming season.
0 recs | 8 comments
here is a tidbit which has indirect effect on the Astros....
ESPN talks to Rafael Soriano’s agent, who says that Soriano is re-thinking whether to go for free agency. He says it will come down to a last minute decision on whether to accept the Braves’ arbitration offer or not. He says it’s not clear whether the FA market or arbitration is better for Soriano.
Interesting sidelights include the possibility that the Braves may unwittingly corner the market on closers. Assuming that both Gonzalez and Soriano will become free agents, the Braves already paid over $10 million for Billy Wagner and a set up man, Saito. The Astros are among the teams interested in Soriano if he goes to free agency.
clack - December 5, 2009
I hope he does accept arbitration
even if that does mean one less player for us to sign as our closer. My reasoning is
1. It will be easier for Valverde to find a new team as the closer market shrinks even more.
2. There are still a couple options out there for closer that don’t involve giving up 2 picks and we can’t afford to give up any picks.
3. He does have a list of injury issues which really scares me with closers especially. To me he seems like the Rich Harden of relievers. Great stuff when he’s healthy.
Astrosws20 - December 6, 2009
The Astros wouldn’t give up two picks if they sign Soriano, because of their W/L record. I think there may be good reason for the Astros to go after players who are Type A, IF (a big “if”) the type A designation reduces the player’s price enough that the Astros get a bargain. A second round draft pick has far lower value than a first round pick. So it can make economic sense if the Type A designation reduces the market for a player enough that his asking price has to go down, say, $2 million. This could happen if Soriano goes to free agency (that is why is agent is considering accepting arbitration)…indeed, there is some chance that it could happen to Valverde and allow the Astros to sign Valverde for less than he would get in arbitration. (Of course, in that situation, the Astros forego draft choices, which is a consideration, too.) Of course, if Valverde’s agent has second thoughts, like Soriano’s, he may accept arbitration. I doubt it, though.
clack - December 6, 2009
Sadowski’s former teammate Garrett Broshius said in his blog that Sadowski was signed to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. (h/t AstrosCounty, Dec. 3)
AstroAndy - December 6, 2009
Broshius has a nice, intelligent blog.
I had never seen it before, but nice to see that a substitute teacher/minor leaguer can write well. My thought is that Sadowski’s best feature seems to be a sinker and decent groundball rate, but he will need to improve his control in order to enjoy success in the majors. The blog, above, takes the reasonable view that that Sadowski is neither as good as his first two starts nor as bad as his last three starts for the SF Giants. He takes us back to his blog entry when Sadowski shut out the Astros, and said that Sadowski’s “groundball after groundball” make Berkman, Lee, and Tejada look like members of the South African WBC team.
clack - December 6, 2009
I wouldn’t mind seeing Sadowski getting a rotation slot over Moehler. I’ve gotten more down on the Moehler decision the more time has passed.
My reasoning is that we are clearly in a “wait and see” year. Not exactly rebuilding, but treading water and trying to find bargain players to break out and fill some holes. The biggest cost of picking up Moehler’s option is not necessarily the $3 million so much as the obligation to use him in the rotation, which everybody seems to be taking as a given.
I’d much rather see a player with upside take that spot. We know what Moehler can do. It won’t be a factor three years from now when we’re ready to contend, and it’s nothing we can’t replace easily. Yet we’re still going to have to watch him pitch between 5 and 7 innings turning in mediocre performances every five days. I could at least get excited about watching a young player develop.
OremLK - December 6, 2009
I assume everyone believes that Moehler has to go in the rotation because of his salary. However, I would prefer it if another No. 5 starter bumped Moehler to the bullpen. Moehler is ideally suited to providing back up for young starters, because of his ability to perform in long relief and enter the rotation if one of the young pitchers bombs out.
clack - December 6, 2009
I agree
But most, like Justice, McTaggart, and maybe even Ed Wade (though I could be remembering wrong on that one) seem to be talking like he will definitely be the #5 starter. So I’m not counting on the team doing the smart thing on this one. Although, maybe Mills and Arnsberg will be able to influence matters in a positive way.
OremLK - December 6, 2009
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